By-polls for assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Telangana, Maharashtra, Punjab and Tripura would be held on Saturday, days before Parliament meets for the Budget Session. Uttar Pradesh (Muzaffarnagar, Deoband and Bikapur) and Karnataka (Devadurga, Hebbal and Bidar) would see elections to three constituencies each and Telangana (Narayankhed), Madhya Pradesh (Maihar), Maharashtra (Palghar), Punjab (Khadoor Sahib), Bihar (Harlakhi) and Tripura (Amarpur) will have elections for one Assembly constituency each.
By-elections can sometimes throw up unexpected results, so, the contest would be watched closely. Though the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are not contesting the Khadoor Sahib by-polls, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal has targeted the two parties while campaigning for party candidate Ravinder Singh Brahmpura. Khadoor Sahib is frequently identified with a panthic character. Of the nine segments of the Lok Sabha constituency, the Congress won only three in the 2012 Assembly polls, and Khadoor Sahib was one of them. The Congress member of legislative Assembly (MLA) has resigned for panthic reasons. But the party is staying away from the elections.
In Karnataka's Hebbal constituency, the Congress has picked former Union minister and party veteran C K Jaffer Sharief's grandson Abdul Rehman Sharief over Chief Minister Siddaramiah's multi-millionaire friend, Byrathi Suresh. In Uttar Pradesh, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will contest two of three seats - Bikapur and Muzafarnagar - in a maiden attempt in UP. Watch these elections.
In Tamil Nadu, ahead of the Assembly elections in less than three months, realignments are happening: The coming week will indicate more clearly in what direction politics is going. Last week, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M Karunanidhi invited the Congress to join an alliance with the DMK. The matter is on Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's to-do list. The invitation has come three years after the DMK snapped ties with the Congress. Will the Congress align with the alleged protagonists of the 2G spectrum scam again?
Packed week ahead for busy foreign ministry
Nepalese Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel started his two-day visit to India on Sunday. He met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and sought increased investments by Indian businesses and expeditious implementation of India-assisted projects including hydro-power ventures and road construction in the Terai region of Nepal, sources said. He would meet Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to discuss reconstruction assistance programmes. A PTI report said Nepalese Prime Minister K P Oli would visit India on February 19. Oli is scheduled to hold comprehensive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 20 on key regional and bilateral issues, sources said.
The government would also be busy with preparing for the Make in India Week, to be held from February 13 to 18 in Mumbai. Those who have confirmed participation include the prime ministers of Sweden, Finland and Lithuania, and dignitaries from a large number of countries including Poland, Japan, Indonesia, Columbia, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Mexico, Germany and South Korea.
The MEA had a busy last week. Swaraj was in Sri Lanka on Friday and Saturday for the ninth session of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission.
The 13th Round of the India-Iran foreign office consultations took place on Thursday in New Delhi. The two countries are looking at strengthening their economic cooperation after the economic sanctions against Tehran have been lifted. Chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administration, C Y Leung, came visiting as did Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque and Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.
PM to address Odisha farmers' meet, return later
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited Odisha on Sunday to dedicate Indian Oil Corporation Ltd's Paradip refinery to the nation, will visit the state again on February 21 to address a farmers' rally in drought-hit Bargarh.
"The prime minister is concerned about farmers' condition. He has special attachment with Odisha. Therefore, he is undertaking two visits to the state in a fortnight," Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary and Odisha in-charge Arun Singh said.
Modi will address the Kisan Sammelan at Bargarh and would also interact with farmers and listen to their problems. The rally at Bargarh is part of BJP's plan to organise four mega farmers' conferences in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. The proposed second visit of the prime minister to Odisha assumes significance as the BJP has been accusing the BJD government in Odisha of failing to tackle farmers' problems which had led to alleged suicides by many, mostly in western region of the state.
